Variable-frequency dynamo-electric machine



A. H. NEULAND.

VARIABLE FREQUENCY DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJL 19'6.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

INVENTOR.

a. H. NEUL mm ms ATTORNEYS.

1 glmsssss= ALFONS H. NEULAND, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

VARIABLE-FREQUENCY DYNAMIC-ELECTRIC MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

Application filed August 8, 1916. Serial No. 113,709.

' lowing is a specification.

Theinvention relates to dynamo electric machines and particularly to means for controlling the speed of synchronous and induction motors.

An object of the invention is to provide means for controlling the speed of synchronous and induction motors.

'.\nother object of the invention is to provide a controlling apparatus. thespeed of which may be varied and adjusted to supply the motors with currents of proper frequency and voltage at the various speeds.

' Another object of the invention is to provide for the cooperation of the controlling apparatus, with motors of various types and-for various purposes.

The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following description where I shall outline in full that form of the invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the Jresent specification. In the drawings I l iavc shown only one specific form of my generic invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to such form because my invention as expressed in the claims may be embodied in a multiplicity of forms.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrannnatic vertical section of the apparatus provided with means for driving it mechanically or electrically.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic cross section of the apparatus.

Fig. I is a diagrammatic. re n'csentation of the circuits of the apparatus and Various types of motors connected thereto and controlled thereby.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a marine propulsion system employing the apparatus of my invention.

.Fig. 5 IS a similar view of a railway drive.

Fig. is a diagrammatic illustration of the apparatus and controlled motors showing means for indicating co-extensive move ment of the rotors of the controller and motors.

- The apparatus of the present invention, in some respects resembles the power transmission up aratus shown and described in detail in my Inited States Letters Patent Num ber 1,2&2,714, dated October 9, 1917, and the adjustable speed motor shown and described in detail in my United States Letters Patents Numbers 1,233,899 and 1,233,900, issued July 7, 1912', to which reference is hereby made for a description of certain features of the present apparatus. The apparatus of the present invention comprises an armature 2' provided with a winding 3 'and a. commutator -L of any suitable type, a stator 5 surrounding the armature and provided with a winding 6 and a rotatable field element 7' arranged between the stator and-armature and energized by a direct current from a suitable sorirce, such as the battery 8. A set of polyphase brushes 9 wiping the commutator are connected to the stator 'winding to conduct the current from the armature to the stator.

The armature may be driven by a prime mover, such as the motor 12 or may be driven by electrical em-rgy from a suitable source 13 of alternating current which is fed into the armature through the slip rings 14.

\Vhen the armature 2 is driven at a substantially constant speed y the prime mover, as shown in Fig. l. and the field energized, a current is generated in the armature which is collcrted by the brushes 9 and fed into the polyphase. stator winding (3. causing the field element 7 to rotate. The current at the brushes, which has been unidirectional as long as the field was at rest, becomes alternating as soon as the field begins to rotate, and the frequency of this current depends on and is pro ortional to the speed of the field clement. he armature, therefore, in this case, is the eneraton of a variable frequency. while tie stator" and the field operate like a synchronous motor supplied with a. variable frequency.

. The speed of the field and the corresponding frequency which the. apparatus produces is controlled and fixed by a balance of the generated armature voltage and the counter clectromotive force of the stator windings. The stator winding is preferably connected for three phase and in star fashion and in order that the balance of the [ill generated voltage aml the counter E. M. F. may be varied to produce a variation in the delivered frequency, each phase of the stator winding is provided with taps lose that the turns in sericsconuectml across the armature brushes can be varied.

The slip between the arnniturc and field is great-est and the voltage at the brushes is highest. when the field is stationary, and since when the field is stationary there is no relative movement between the field and the stator winding, the counter voltage of the stator windin is zero. Therefore a strong current circu ates through this circuit including the armature and stator windings, and forces the field to rotate. The rotation of the field decreases the slip and the armature voltage, and at the same time generates a counter voltage in the-stator winding until the speed'of the field reaches a point where the counter voltage a )proaches the armature voltage, whereupon t is current decreases to a small value sufiicient only to overcome the friction of the idly rotating field element.

The speed of'the field cannot increase after this balance has been reached and the frequency at the brushes is thus fixed. but the frequency is changed as soon as this balance is disturbed which is accomplished by con necting the brush leads 16 to other taps 15 of the stator winding. By so doing the coun ter voltage is increased or decreased and is accompanied b a decreased or increased speed of the fie d as well as a changed frcquency at the brushes.

In addition to the frequency steps which are obtained by varying the number of turns of the stator winding in series-across the brushes, intermediate graduations can be obtained by varying the strength of the field by the insertion of a variable resistance 17.

So far I have confined my description to the ap aratus and have shown how it can when riven by a prime move of constant speed. be made to supply at will, up to a certain limit, current of any dcsirvd fi-cqncm-y. This variable frequency current I utilize for driving, at a fixed or an adjustable speed. independent of the load, alternating current motors of either the induction or the synchronous type.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the arrangcmcnt of connections between the apparatus and the motors to be controlled. an induction motor 18, a synchronous motor 19 and a Xculand motor 21, the latter motor being shown and described in my 1'. S. Patent No. 1,178,455. It is to be understood that the apparatus may be designed to operate at a high speed or at a speed which is most convenient or efiicient, while the motors may be construct-- ed for a difierent number of poles and made to operate at a difl'erent speed from that of the controller. In many instances, such as in rolling mills and ship drives, it is neces sary that the motors opclalc at a very low speed in which cases I prefer to employ the Xeuland motor. The Nenland motor shown in Fig. 3 has a two pole field. a four polo armature and a frcquc Irv pcr revolution do tcrmincd by the number iii rotor tcclh, which makes it particularly adapted to low spcod high torque work. The brush lcads 16 of the apparatus connect to tho lhrcc phase stator winding and the motor terminals are. connected to the cxtrcme leads of the stator windings.

The motors may be supplied with an approximately constant potential at the varying frequency and speed. This is the case when the connections are as shown in Fig. 3 and the field of thc apparatus remains con-' stant, resulting in currents circulating through the motors which are very powerful on low spccd and which decrease with increasing spccd so that (he lorquc of the mo tor in this casc is \'c1' great at start and low spccd and diminishcs with increasing speed. Such a charactcristic of the motor will be very useful for certain applications.

For ordinary applications] prcfcr to vary, that is, lo incrcasc the voltage supplied to the motor approxinmtcly in.proportion to the increased frequency and motor speed, resulting in a substantially constant current in the motor and consequently a constant torque at all spccds.

This is accomplished by the usc of a particular iicld ci'mstrin-tion shown in Fig. 2 in which thc external polc faccs 22 are conncctcd by a yoke 23 to the adjacent internal pole i'accs 24- 'lhc coils -33 on the inner polc picccs 26 form a circuit and the coils 27 on thc outer pole picccs '18 form a circuit, so that tlic currcl t in-cach circuit can be indc pendcntly varied and the strength of the armature ficld can hc decreased without dc t'l'tihlllfL' tho stator field. in this way. whcu the motor is to bc started thc armature field is weakened. generating only a low voltage at. thc brushcs and limitingthe inruslt of currcnt to the motor at start and at low spccds. As tho motor specd is increased tluarmature field of the master controller is proportionately strcnglhcncd by varying the resistance 17 until at high speed it reaches its full value.

Tho energy to the motor is supplied by tho armature of the apparatus alone at standstill of the motor,by the stator winding of the apparatus alone at the highest speed or the motor and b and stator at any interine iate speed. In the first case, the brush leads are connected to the outermost ta 5 on the stator winding so that the brush leads are connected directly to the motor leads. In the second case, the brush leads have been moved inward on the stator winding to the innermost taps, therebyshort circuiting the arms-- the armature however, great flexibility,

ture brushes, in which case the armature drives the field element as a clutch and the rotation of the field a ainst the stator generates the energy supplied to the motor. In the third case the brush leads are connected to points on the stator winding other than the extreme taps, so that the increasing field speed, while lowering the voltage in the armature, also serves to step it up in the stator 'winding which acts as an auto-transformer, maintaining or even increasin the motor terminal volta so that part 0% the energ is generated y the armature and part y the statorwinding.

I have heretofore assumed the apparatus to be driven by -.a rime mover in order to generate current or the motor. It has being used in various ways and for various purposes, only a few of which can here be described or pointed out. Thus, for instance, the apparatus may be supplied from a source of current 13 and operate as a converter instead of being driven by a prime mover. In Fig. 3 of the drawings I have shown how a three phase alternating current of constant frequency may be fed into the apparatus through slip rings 14 mounted on the armature shaft and connected to the armature windin In this case, before the apparatus is rea y to deliver current to the motors, the armature must first be brought up to speed and synchronized with the field, by the application of external power or otherwise. after which the motor circuit is closed. At the startin the dild element is stationary, causing direct cur- .rent to be delivered at the commutator brushes, which is fed into the stator, causing the field element to rotate. Since the armature windings are connected to the stator windings and the current in the latter windings causes rotation of the field element, the armature is always in synchronous relation with the field.

Like most other electric machines, this apparatus, which has heretofore been described as converting a constant speed of rotation or a constant fi'eqliency curi'ent into a variable speed or variable fiequency respectively, can be employed to effect changes vice versa, that is, change a variable frequency into a constant frequency. If the device is to operate in this capacity, the primury induction motor 18 shown in Fig. 3 is connected to a source 31 of constant frequency while the rotor of the motor is connected to the.stator windings of theapparatus, which; after having its armature speeded up and synchronized with the field by the same or a similar source of constant frequency supply, 0 crates to convert the variable frequency sip currents of the induction motor into a constant frequency and and is capable oi stant irrespective of the variations in load.

It may be applied to electric locomotives, as shown in ig. 5, where'each axle may conveniently be provided with an ordinary to the squirrel-cage induction motor 32, all bf them fed by the apparatus 34, which in this as in the preceding case may be 0 erated as a converter from a single or p0 y hase constant frequency supply, or if pre erred may be driven by amotor fed by a source of current supply, or again may be driven by any other prime mover such as an internal combustion engine. Furthermore, the trailers may also be provided with induction motors all connected to and fed and controlled by, the apparatus. An important advantage of this system for electric railways is that it may be used for regenerative braking and not only when coasting down grade but when slowing down. for stops, since the braking can be very adually a plied, and unlike the braking o tainedwi the ordinary induction motor, in this system the full brake efiect isavailable at any speed of the motors, which operate to return energy through the apparatus to the source of supply.

For ship drive, Fig. 4. where the apparatus 34 may be driven at a high speed by a steam turbine 36, supplyingci i'rent to one or more synchronous or induction motors 37. driving the propellers 38. In this connection the control may be efi'ected from the bridge of thevessel and the propellers will be prevented from racing or exceeding the speed for which they have. been Another importantuse which I here deem it necessary to touch upon is in connect-ion with the apparatus 34 with one or more motors 39 and ll. which must be controlled from a central and more or less distant point, and at an exactly similar speed, in such a way that the apparatus 34 by its roso=that it will indicate the exact relation to it of the motor shafts or the pointers 44' or tors inust preferably be of the nchronous .type so that their rotation won (1 hear an exact relation to the apparatus even though they were wound for a different number of poles or were differently geared.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for controlling and ad justing the'speed of an alternating current -motor, comprisingnn armature provided with a winding, eomtm tator and brushes, a stator provided with a winding which is connected to said brushes and a rotatable field element cooperating with'athe armature and stator, leads arranged to connect the stator winding with the motor and means for controlling and adjusting the speed of the rotatable field element.

2. En apparatus for controlling and adjusting the speed of an alternating current motor, comprising an armature provided with a winding, commutator and brushes, a stator provided with a winding which is connected to said brushes and a rotatable.

field element cooperating with the armature and stator, leads arranged to connect the stator winding with the motor, and means for varying the number of turns of the stator winding in series across the armature brushes.

3. An apparatus for controlling and adjusting the speed of an alternating current motor, comprising an armature provided withai winding, commutator and brushes, a stator provided with a winding which is connected to said brushes and-.1 rotatable field element ha ing a stator field winding and an armature 'field winding and means for varying the current in the armature field Winding and leads arranged to connect the stator wlnding with the motor.

4. An apparatus for controlling and adjusting the speed of an alternating current motor, comprising an armature provided with a winding. commutator and brushes, a stator'provided with a winding which is connected to "said brushes and a rotatable field element having a stator field winding and an armaturefield winding and means for varying the current in the armature field winding, leads arranged to connect the l gltor winding with the motor. and means 7 varying the number of turns of the stawinding in series across the armature brushes.

5. An apparatus for controlling and adjusting the speed of an alternating current motor comprising an armature provided with a commutator and a. winding arranged to have an electromotivc force generated in or impressed thereon, brushes engaging said commutator, a stator provided with a winding which is connected to said brushes, a rotatable field clement cooperating with said armature and stator and pl'oducing' in the stator windings a counter elcctronmtivo force which balances the armature electromotive force and thereby determines the speed of the field element and means for varying the counter clectromotive force whereby the speed of the-field element is varied, the speed oi' thc field clement determining the frequency of the current in thearmature winding.

6. An apparatus for controlling and"adjusting the speed of an alternating current motor comprising an armature provided with a winding and commutator, polypbuse brushes engaging the commutator. a stator provided with a polypliase winding to which the commutator brushes are connected, taps on the stator windings whereby the number of turns of the windings in series across the brushes may be varied, and a rotatable ficld element cooperating with said armatureand stator, said stator windings being arranged to be connected to the motor.

7. An apparatus for controlling and adjusting tbespecd of an alternating current motor comprising an armature provided with a windin; and commutator, polyphaso brushes engagin the commutator. a stator provided with a pol \'pha.se winding to which the commutator brushes are connected, means for varying the number of turns of the stator winding in scries across the armu ture brushes a rotatable licld element interposed between the, armature and stator, indopeudcut armature field and stator lield nindings on said field element and motor leads urrnngcd to be connected to the stator windings.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at San Francisco, (,alifornia, this 1st day of August, 1916.

In presence of- H. G. Pnos'r. 

